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Events
January
- January 1 - a British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian becomes the first commercial flight to depart Heathrow Airport
- January 10 - a Sikorsky R5 sets an unofficial helicopter altitude record of 6,400 m (21,000 ft) at Stratford, Connecticut.
- January 26 - Col William Councill sets a new US transcontinental speed record of 4 hours 13 minutes in a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
February
- February 6 - TWA makes its first international flight, from New York to Paris
- February 11 - U.S. and British negotiators reach the Bermuda Agreement, the first bilateral agreement regulating air transport. The two countries agree to fix transatlantic air fares through the International Air Transport Association.
March
- March 8 - the Bell 47 receives the first type certificate awarded to a commercial helicopter.
- March 21 - Strategic Air Command of the United States Army Air Force is formed.
May
- May 31 - London Heathrow Airport is officially opened.
June
- June 15 - the Navy's new Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, gives its first public performance at Craig Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
- June 21 - a USAF P-80 Shooting Star carries the first airmail flown by jet.
July
- July 1 - a B-29 Superfortress drops an atomic bomb on Bikini Atoll in a nuclear test.
- July 21 - a McDonnell FH Phantom makes the first landing by a jet aboard a US aircraft carrier, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt
September
- September 7 - a Royal Air Force Gloster Meteor established a new world absolute air speed record of 615.65 mph (990.79 km/h) flown by Group Captain E.M. Donaldson off the coast of West Sussex, England.
- September 16 - Italian airline Alitalia was formed.
- September 19 - Portuguese airline Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (TAP) is formed.
- September 27 - Geoffrey de Havilland Jr is killed when the de Havilland DH.108 breaks up in mid-air
- September 29 - a United States Navy Lockheed P2V Neptune sets a new distance record of 11,235 miles (18,082 km)
October
- October 3 – A Berlin-bound 4 engine Douglas C-54 named 'Flagship New England' crashed into a mountainside outside of Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. The flight, operated by American Overseas Airlines was mostly carrying wives and children of US Army personnel serving in post-war Germany. All 39 people on board died. At the time, it was the worst accident of its kind among US civilian airlines.
November
- November 23 - An Avro Lancastrian powered with Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets is credited with the first international passenger jet flight from London to Paris. The flight time was just 41 minutes.
First flights
January
- January 19 - Bell X-1 (unpowered)
February
- February 28 - Republic XP-84 Thunderjet 45-54975
April
- April 24 - Mikoyan-Gurevich I-300, the Soviet Union's first jet
- April 24 - Yakovlev Yak-15 (three hours after the I-300)
May
- May 17 - Douglas XB-43, first US jet bomber 44-61508
- May 22 - de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
June
- June 6 - Aérocenter NC.3020 Belphégor
- June 7 - Short Sturgeon prototype RK787
- June 25 - Northrop XB-35 flying wing bomber 42-13603
July
- July 7 - Hughes XF-11
- July 27 - Supermarine Attacker prototype TS409
August
- August 8 - Convair XB-36 42-13570
September
- September 11 - Lavochkin La-150
- September 11 - North American XFJ-1, prototype of the FJ Fury, the first jet aircraft to enter service with the US Navy
November
- November 11 - SNCASO SO-6000 Triton, France's first jet
- November 11 - Avions Fairey Belfair OO-TIA
- November 13 - Sukhoi Su-9
- November 16 - Saab 90 Scandia prototype SE-BCA
December
- December 2 - T-34 Mentor
- December 12 - Westland Wyvern TS371
Entered service
September
- September 1 - Vickers Viking with British European Airways (G-AHOP)
- September 30 - Short S.26 with BOAC Golden Hind (G-AFCI)
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